Lightroom Tips & Tricks: Speedy Corrections

Image corrections can be very exacting, but Lightroom 2 offers a number of tools for common quick fixes such as straightening or sharpening an image. Chris Orwig gives a quick tour through features that should be part of everyone's Lightroom tool vocabulary.

From the author of

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This article originally appeared in PhotoshopUser magazine. All images by Chris Orwig.

Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2 has gained unprecedented momentum as more and more amateur and professional photographers have integrated this tool into their workflows. Following is an assortment of tips to help you make the most of this amazing tool.

Straight and Level

To speed up the process of straightening or leveling an image, press the R key to select the Crop Overlay tool. Next, press Command (PC: Ctrl) and click-and-drag along something in the image that should be straight or level. With this technique, you'll never have to click the Straighten tool in the panel. (In Figure 1, I clicked-and-dragged along the bar.) For even more help straightening the image, press Command-Option (PC: Ctrl-Alt) as you use the Straighten tool to display a grid that will help you straighten the image. Finally, press Return (PC: Enter) to apply the crop.